Born To Be Rivals
by ChloboShoka
Summary: Ash prepares himself for a new journey, but his biggest rival is waiting for him: his younger brother, Kamon "Silver" Ketchum.


Disclaimer: Characters used in this story are from the pokemon franchise and are thus copyrighted to Nintendo & The Pokemon Company. This is a non-profit story that was written by a fan for fans.

Notes: I had a writer's block when I was doing an college assignment and ended up writing a whole new fic.

* * *

Another region.

Another adventure.

Ash's life had been going around in circles for six years and five months. Even though he was sixteen going on seventeen, he still felt like the ten year old who left Pallet Town with Pikachu. He had made amazing friends, but also some bitter enemies during his journey. Two of those enemies were his own brother and father. He cared about his father and brother very much; but he hated their lifestyles. Ash despised the way his father turned to crime and he hated the way his brother treated his pokemon like tools.

Ash had returned to Unova to celebrate his friend, Iris' success at the Unova League. She swamped Alder's team with Haxorous, but he had heard that Alder was planning to retire and dedicate his time to his family. He was now back in Pallet Town and came back by himself. When he rang home, his mother didn't pick up the phone so he left an answer phone message informing her that he was on her way home.

It had been a long night. The combination of jet lag and walking made Ash hear his bed calling for him. It was a starless night and Ash was hugging himself to stay warm. But when he returned home, it wasn't his mother that was waiting for him.

A tall boy with long red hair was laying on the sofa.

Stunned, Ash closed the door. Pikachu was getting ready to attack by pushing his full weight on his feet. "Wait Pikachu," Ash said. "That's my brother, Kamon."

Kamon was three years younger than Ash, but he was anything but a friend. Kamon liked to call himself Silver and told everyone he came from Littleroot Town where he met a girl called Lyra. For as long as Ash remembered, he never got on with Kamon, even with their mother's great effort. Ash's earliest memory of Kamon was when he started picking on Molly Hale. Ash couldn't remember what Kamon was saying to him, but it was making her cry and both he and Gary stood up to Kamon.

Nothing much had changed. Kamon was thirteen and already had a plethora of badges, but was yet to enter a league. Kamon had a physiological list of people he wanted to defeat before he entered a pokemon league. There was nothing stopping him, he had the badges. The first person on Kamon's list to defeat was Lyra Soul. Ash had met Lyra in Sinnoh and rewarded his friend, Dawn an egg for defeating her. The next person on Kamon's list was Lyra's cousin, Jimmy Ethan Gold, whom Ash had never met.

It was no surprise to Ash that Kamon wanted to battle him. Ash hadn't seen Kamon since he left Pallet Town to start his journey. Whenever Ash returned home to see his mother, Kamon was never present. He later heard that Kamon had ventured off on his own journey. He stole a totodile from Professor Elm in Johto because he was too young to pick up his own starter legally.

"Hey Kamon," Ash said. "Is mom asleep?"

"She's out."

"So what brings you here?"

"Mom asked me to house sit."

Ash made his way upstairs. "You house sit?"

"If you don't believe me you can ask her yourself when she gets back," Kamon said. Kamon followed Ash up the stairs, although he was more focused on Pikachu. "I see you've still not evolved your own starter. My starter reached his fully evolved form within a fortnight."

"Pikachu dosen't want to evolve," Ash stated. "And I love Pikachu just the way he is."

Kamon humphed. "Pikachu is wasted on you then. How long have you been entering leagues for?" Kamon asked his brother. His voice was deep and unsubtle. "You're never gonna win."

"What makes you think that?" Ash asked. He raised his eyebrow as his body remained still. "I did win the Orange League when I was Eleven."

"I've always had a little more lead in my pencil than you," Kamon hissed. "What's the point of going to all these new regions and hooking with all these people and do nothing with them."

"If you think that's how I live my life then you are mistaken," Ash said, resisting the urge to punch him. His heart sunk as he sighed. Even if Kamon showed no compassion towards to him, he was still his little brother and loved him by default. But Kamon couldn't help but feel that his brother was being so... challenging. "And at least I take part in pokemon leagues."

"So where did you just come back from?"

"Unova."

"Unova must be a really crap region."

"Actually, Unova was one of the best places I've ever been to."

"I always thought pokemon league champions had to have honour." Kamon smirked as he folded his arms. "But not Unova. Their new champion just plays with dragons and wears hideous pink dresses. I'd enter the league, but it would be a waste of time. I've got no time to wimps."

"THAT'S MY FRIEND YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!" Ash shouted. Pikachu also cried as electric jolts sprung out of his rosy cheeks. "Her name is Iris and she's a strong trainer."

"Really?" Kamon said, dismissing everything his brother said. "She's so weak that old grandpa had to run the gym for her."

"You don't know my friends," Ash barked as he pushed Kamon against the wall. He clenched his fists and his teeth shattered as he growled. Pikachu slid of Ash's back and froze on the spot. Rarely did Ash lose his temper at home, and Pikachu could see why Ash and Kamon never stayed in touch. Pikachu felt as if they weren't actually brothers. They were never there for each other in fact, they hardly knew each other. Ash continued to shout, "IF YOU INSULT MY FRIENDS ONE MORE TIME I'M GOING TO TRASH YOU!"

"Well if you think you're so good let's battle right now!"

"I'd love to," Ash said. "But my pokemon are tired and need rest."

"You wimp." Kamon laughed. "It's not like you to refuse a battle."

"I mean it Kamon," Ash snapped. He chucked his cap on the side of the bed and threw himself onto the bed. No time to change into his pajamas or brush his teeth. Silently, Ash lost himself to slumber on his back.

Kamon looked down on Pikachu and asked the mouse, "How do you put up with my stinking older brother?"

* * *

Ash and Kamon were trying to outshine their older brother, Red Ketchum. He was known as the best trainer in the world. Being the brothers to the greatest trainer alive made them both determined to be a better trainer. The three brothers never spend time together, but if there was anything Red taught Kamon and Ash, it was that if they wanted to be pokemon masters, they would have to be great people.

But what does it take to be a pokemon master? Everyone had different conclusions to it. Some say you have to obtain everything a pokemon trainer can earn: ribbons, badges, every single pokemon out there, beating the local elite fours and the champions, entering and winning every tournament, become famous, become a role model. Red is an undisputed Pokemon Master as he's met all the various criteria. But how can someone know how close they are to achieving their goals. Are obtaining the badges really worth it.

Ash vowed that he would capture every pokemon in the world on the day he left Pallet Town. He would slaughter every gym in a heartbeat and become the champion in no time. A few years down the line he found out there were more important things and that his ideals were unrealistic. As stupid as he may have looked at the time, he was still a child going out in the world on his own.

He thought of himself as an only child. As he delved deeper into his journey, he had nearly forgotten what Kamon and Red looked like. Who they were and what they did. He was sure that Kamon made no mention of his family as he wanders the world as a boy called Silver. Deep inside Ash would like to think that Kamon was a boy with the maturity of twice his age.

Ash, Kamon and Red were brothers and they were therefore born to be rivals.

When Ash got up that morning, he thought of what Kamon said about Iris. She achieved her dreams of being a dragon-type master and was the new champion of Unova. She deserved it. She worked hard to get where she wanted to be. But there's still more that she can do. She may be a pokemon master, but she can still improve. Then Ash thought to himself, if he won the orange league so many years ago, did that make him a pokemon master? Do people stop after they become pokemon masters? They just keep going.

"Where's mom?" Ash asked Kamon.

"She's at work," Kamon replied.

"Work?" Ash had no idea what his mother got up to since he left. He knows she enjoys doing domestic chores so the house is nice and clean when her sons come back, but he had no idea that Delia had a job. He knew Delia used to work at a restaurant, but she left a few years ago. Ash had assumed that she hadn't been working since.

"She works at a nursing home," Kamon hissed.

"Since when did she get a job in care?"

"She's been working in care for ages," Kamon said. "She works hard there: does twelve hour shifts. You should look up to her." Kamon appeared to be very ticked off. "If it wasn't for Mom, we wouldn't have this nice house. Father does nothing for us. He let Mom raise us on her own."

"What's with you?" Ash asked. "All you've done is moan at me."

"Because you don't have a bloody clue how much effort Mom puts into this place," Kamon hissed. "She's overworked, underpaid and you don't appreciate her."

"You're telling me I don't appreciate?" Ash asked with an open mouth. "Well Kamon, at least I didn't have to resort to theft."

"I only stole them because they were going to waste," Kamon responded. "And don't call me Kamon anymore. My name is Silver."

Ash didn't want to say another word. They were on the verge of a serious argument. He hoped that he would actually see his mom before he went off to Kalos. He considered inviting some of his friends and have a party down at his. He knew Kamon would object to it, but to be honest, he didn't care what Kamon thought.

"I'm going to see Red," Kamon decided. "I'll beat him this time."

"Good luck on that," Ash said. Kamon left without even saying goodbye, but Ash had a feeling that Kamon wouldn't last five minutes in a battle on the top of Mt. Silver.

* * *

The only time Ash and Kamon ever smiled at each other was when their eyes were locked in a pokemon battle. They may not see eye-to eye outside the battle but when they're prepared for a battle, they really go all out. They look into each other's eyes and see their heritage: they were still The Ketchums, thus part of the same family. The battles reminded them of that.

Kamon couldn't find Red on Mt. Silver so he had returned home. He wasn't surprised to see Ash sitting on the sofa as she ate a whole bag of sugar-coated doughnuts. Kamon shrugged it off, it didn't surprise him one bit.

Ash jumped out of his seat. "I'll have that battle if you want."

"You've given up being a wimp?" Kamon smirked.

"You are talking to a Orange League Champion!"

"Was that an eating contest?"

"Very funny," Ash muttered. "Now let's go outside."

The brothers laughed their way into the back garden, which they imagined was a large pokemon stadium. Despite Mimey's peaceful protest, the brothers threw their pokemon into the deep end by throwing them into a triple battle. They would one day join Red and be a pokemon master like him.


End file.
